A long-serving health service boss has announced that he plans to retire after 15 years in senior roles with the NHS.
Alan McCarthy, 69, chairs the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust board which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Sussex Eye Hospital, in Brighton.
The trust runs other hospitals in West Sussex and Mr McCarthy has chaired the trust since it was founded in April 2018.
Before taking his first senior NHS job – at the former Brighton and Hove City Teaching Primary Care Trust – Mr McCarthy was the chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council.
He said: “The time is right for a new person to chair the board through the next stage of our journey and I wanted to make my decision known now so the trust and NHS England can begin the process of recruiting my successor.
“It will also give me time to properly thank everyone at UHSussex for the dedication to patient care I have witnessed over the last five years.
“That commitment was clear literally from day one: my first public duty as chair was to help recognise colleagues’ outstanding achievements at our annual staff awards ceremony.
“It hasn’t wavered since either – through the darkest days of the pandemic and the incredible challenges the NHS has faced in its aftermath as well as in navigating the merger that created our trust and beginning to unlock its huge potential to improve patient care.
“The demands and challenges facing colleagues across our trust remain significant and we must recognise the pressures on everyone.
“However, with the leadership we now have in place, supported by the talent and dedication of our staff, our trust is ready to do the very best for the people of Sussex.
“I’m proud to have been part of this wonderful organisation and will support it however I can in my retirement.”
University Hospitals Sussex chief executive George Findlay said: “Alan has been a great servant, not just of UHSussex but of the wider NHS and public sector too, for many many years.”
Dr Findlay added: “He has been a staunch ally for the trust and a great source of support and advice for the executive team and especially for me as chief executive.
“We will miss working with him but wish him every happiness in his retirement.”
Mr McCarthy, 69, is a chartered civil engineer with 40 years’ experience in the public sector, including five years as chief executive of the council.
During his time at UHSussex, he was appointed an MBE for his service to the NHS, which included eight years as chair of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
Any news about the unnecessary deaths at the Royal Sussex Hospital in recent years yet
The investigation is still ongoing last I heard.
Yeah – ‘the time is right for a new person… ‘ someone who’ll do something about the ‘Inadequate’ ratings given by the CQC for reasons, amongst others, of ‘fear’ and ‘bullying’ of staff – and maybe someone who could keep the hospitals out of the Special Measures they keep falling into, not to mention the ongoing police investigation …